On Gratitude
Many seekers come to Mataji wanting peace of mind and contentment. For many people, these innermost desires are fulfilled in Mataji’s presence.
But the journey does not always stop there with Mataji. For some people, the lesson of gratitude becomes an important and necessary part of their growth around Mataji.
There are some of us who suffer from a pernicious trait that harms us without our realising it – an inability to value our blessings. Gratitude is not yet ingrained in our being. Thankfulness is something we may feel only when life goes our way — in moments of success, relief, and answered prayers. We may often forget our biggest blessings and may tend to complain about our circumstances.
In Mataji’s presence, a person begins to really understand why it is that without gratitude, every prayer remains incomplete. There is a realisation that true gratitude is not a reaction to life moving according to our wishes. It is a state of being, a feeling of reverence towards everything that we receive.
Mataji shows us that the simple gift of being alive and facing a new day is worthy of all our gratitude. A person realises that death can occur at any moment and take everything away. This is certainly what happened to me. The fragility of my life became painfully apparent when I encountered Mataji at a time when my body and mind had both given up, and I was mere steps away from ending my life.
True gratitude is not a reaction to life
moving according to our wishes. It is a state of being.
In my usual life, it had been easy to remain unconscious and unaware of my self-destructive habits. But in Mataji’s presence, my awareness was heightened just by being around her. The same mistakes that would go unnoticed when I was left to myself, and the consequences of such mistakes, became crystal clear.
I learnt that when I harmed, disrespected or took other people for granted, I was not hurting something outside of me — I was wounding my own self. I saw how, unconsciously, I was repeatedly hurting myself by hurting other people, if not by my actions then by my thoughts. I saw the consequences of taking things for granted – how, if I was left to stand by myself alone without the support of the blessings of existence, I would instantly crumble. That’s when I understood that I was entirely dependent on the gifts I received from existence and other living beings at every moment.
I wish I could say that I was mature and wise enough to have learnt the teaching that was being bestowed on me, and change my actions then and there. Unfortunately, my actions and thoughts continued to remain the same. On the inside, I remained in a state of wanting more, more, more. Thankfully, around Mataji’s sharp awareness, I saw how my constant hunger for more was like a bottomless pit. My list of wants could never be satisfied – no sooner was one wish fulfilled that another took its place, and another, and another. If I continued this way, I would remain in constant turmoil – my greed would always control me. No matter how much I received, I would never be satisfied.
Sometimes, it is only the presence of a true
spiritual Master which can ignite the spark of transformation in us.
Somewhere along the way, the lesson became clear: the path to real peace could not be traversed if I did not feel gratitude within myself.
This lesson proves to be more and more invaluable with every passing day. No price can be paid for such an understanding, everything I can offer falls short. No matter how much of an act of “humility” and gratefulness I may have put on on the outside, I know what I am on the inside, and how impossible it has been for me to feel real gratitude.
Knowing how many layers of negativity I carry within me, I can say with conviction that it would have taken me several lifetimes to feel inner thankfulness without Mataji’s blessing. Nobody could have “taught” me how to be grateful in the typical ways. I would have read, written and spoken endlessly about the benefits and importance of gratitude, but continued to remain unchanged on the inside.
Sometimes, it is only the presence of a true spiritual Master which can ignite the spark of transformation in us. For those of us who are blessed to have experienced this spark in Mataji’s presence, the biggest blessing and gift to be grateful for becomes unmistakably clear: the presence of the Master itself. Mataji’s very existence on Earth becomes the greatest gift that one could ever receive.
This is how, I believe, many slowly lose their hard arrogance and selfishness in Mataji’s presence. What remains is a soft, grateful humility, and the realisation: “I am being carried by existence and the Master’s Grace at every moment.”
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Read more reflections from Mataji: Mystic Beyond Boundaries.
